Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleaded not guilty on Monday to corruption charges at the resumption of his trial, six weeks before voters again head to the polls to pass judgment on his leadership.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in long-running cases involving gifts from millionaire friends and for allegedly seeking regulatory favours for media tycoons in return for favourable coverage.
Israel could be plotting to derail one of the incoming Biden Administration's signature foreign policy promises.
Officials from the Israeli government are contemplating the efficacy of the same strategy under the incoming Biden Administration, both in terms of public dialogue and behind-the-scenes diplomatic arbitrage.
O'Brien "is holding NSC meetings tonight and tomorrow morning and will convene a high-level interagency meeting this week," National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot said.
The move opens the way for aid, debt relief and investment to a country going though a rocky political transition and struggling under a severe economic crisis exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.